ABOUT RECKLESS MONEY LAUNDERING UNDER THE SPANISH CRIMINAL CODE

Abstract

This article examines the criminalization of money laundering through gross negligence (Article 301.3 of the Spanish Penal Code), identifying critical deficiencies in the legislative drafting that generate interpretive uncertainty. It argues that the provision can be interpreted through a restrictive teleological reading that limits the scope of imputation to the negligent ignorance of the illicit origin of the funds, recognizes differentiated objective duties of care depending on the agent's position, and establishes an operational standard of "gross negligence" with verifiable elements. This systematic interpretation does not require immediate legislative reform.